Testin, the global leader in QA for its one-stop testing services, released its Mobile Security Monitoring Report Q1 2017, which highlighted five high-risk mobile security categories among the overall 18 categories.

The five high-risk categories are:

Code security: decompilation

Code security: code obfuscation

Open vulnerability webview remote code execution

Open vulnerability Https weak check

Data transfer middleman hijacking

Of the high-risk categories, financial management tops the list, accounting for 17.32% of the overall data. The other 4 categories that round out the top five are: travel, life service, shopping, and social.

High-risk categories and sub-categories ranked from highest frequency to lowest:

Testin mobile security experts have smoothed out specific explanations for the above five high-risk categories, their potential risks, and recommendations to fix them. The following recommendations are for reference only:

1. High-risk – Code Security: Decompilation

Risk Explanation:

Decompilation refers to the implementation of “reversed analysis and research” on the targeted software (such as executable programs) with an aim to derive the ideas, principles, structures, algorithms, processes, methods of operation, and other design elements used in the software. In some cases, the source code can be directly derived through Java-developed Andrew APK programs.

Risk Damage:

The leaked software core code processes may be directly stolen by competitors.

Hackers can implement malicious code and then create a second package to serve as the imposter of the original program for malicious actions.

The exposure of the source code is more vulnerable to the exploitation of software vulnerabilities, thus being more vulnerable to attacks.

Fix Recommendations:

Convert the entire dex into another file by encrypting or compressing the target DEX file and then save the file in the assets folder or elsewhere, and then use the class loader technology to decrypt the memory and load for operation.

Extract the bytecode commands of DexCode and replace them with zeros, or modify the method properties. Make corrections and repairs in memory during operation.

Make reinforcements through a third-party reinforcement program.

2. High-risk – Code Security: Code Obfuscation

Risk Explanation:

Code obfuscation rewrites various elements of the code, such as variables, functions, and class names, into meaningless names. For example, the rewritten single letter, or a brief combination of meaningless letters, or even symbols like “__” will prevent people from guessing their purposes according to their names. Rewriting some of the logic in the code and turning it into a functionally equivalent are more difficult to understand. For example, the for loop is rewritten into a while loop and the while loop is rewritten into recursive with streamlined intermediate variables. Disrupting the code format, such as deleting spaces and pushing multiple lines of code into one line, or breaking a line of code into multiple lines will also increase the difficulty for hackers to directly analyze the code.

Risk Damage:

The original code of the program without code obfuscation will be completely exposed to hackers, thus reducing the hacker’s invasion costs.

The function code is easier to be analyzed, copied, and stolen.

Fix Recommendations:

Obfuscate code through ProGuard

Create a reinforcement through a third-party paid reinforcement programs.

3. High-risk – Open vulnerability: webview remote code execution

Vulnerability Analysis:

Android sdk packages are embedded with the webView plugin, which is mainly used to control the web view. This plugin uses the addJavascriptInterface method to achieve the interaction between local Java and JavaScript, but the method has no restriction on its calling, allowing attackers to invoke any JAVA classes, and thus eventually causing JavaScript code to attack arbitrary code execution on the device.

Risk Damage:

Attackers can build malicious WEB pages to induce user to parse and then use the context of the application to execute any commands.

Attackers can use the vulnerability to remotely control the victim’s mobile phone and implant Trojans.

Fix Recommendations:

Android 4.2 (api17) has already adopted new interface functions and replace addjavascriptInterface with @JavascriptInterface. Some android 2.3 is on longer available for upgrading and thus browsers need to be compatible.

When the bridge of js2java is being used, every parameter input needs to be authenticated so as to block attack code.

Control related permissions or avoid the bridge of js2java as much as possible

4. High-risk – Open vulnerability – Https Weak Check

Vulnerability Analysis:

In the customized subclasses of X509TrustManager, the lack of authentication on the server certificate with default acceptance of any server certificates will pose security risks, making it likely for malicious programs to use middleman attacks to bypass the certificate verification.

Risk Damage:

Risk of the Man-in-the-middle (MitM) attacks with all traffic being read directly by hackers.

Hackers may tamper access or return data.

Fix Recommendations:

Use checkServerTrusted function in the subclass of X509TrustManager to check the legitimacy of server-side certificates.

5. High-risk – Data Transfer: Man-in-the-Middle Hijacking

Risk Analysis:

Since the client fails to verify the server’s certificate, attackers can create separate contacts with the two ends of the telecommunication and exchange the data they receive, thus tricking the two ends into thinking they are communicating directly through private connections. However, the whole communication is completely controlled by attackers. In a middleman attack, attackers can intercept communications of both parties and insert new content.

Risk Damage:

Through middleman hijacking, attackers can steal the plain text of accounts and passwords, chat content, mailing addresses, phone numbers, and credit card payment information and other sensitive information. They can even replace the original information with a malicious link or malicious code program for remote control, malicious charge, and other offensive intentions.

Fix Recommendations:

It is recommended to verify the SSL certificate (whether the signature CA is valid, whether the certificate is self-signed, whether the host domain name matches, whether the certificate is out of date, etc.).

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